Sometimes the fey mood strikes, and I need a dark and potentially terrifying story to chill me to my bones... for fun. Well, despite having numerous books out from the library that are dying to be read, I knew that I needed a King book to read. I had heard "Revival" touted as "classic King" and "absolutely bone-chilling". So, I figured... why not?

Let me give you a brief synopsis without give things away.

This is the story of Jamie Morton and a person, Charlie Jacobs, who occasionally makes an appearance in Jamie's life. More than appearance, he makes a dramatic impact each time. Jacobs is fascinated with a sort of "secret electricity" and he attempts to harness it. But something happened...

Review:

I read the book in two days. The first 90% of it was backstory, and I love backstory. I love a good frame story, and I think this fits the bill. The dates that you hear about are confusing at first. It's hard to follow when things are actually happening.

There is a lot of rock 'n' roll story here, and it's not really my favorite topic, but it wasn't terrible. Once the strings all start coming together to form the cord, it gets more intriguing, but you have to wade through an awful lot of backstory to get there. I can imagine that if you aren't a fan of backstory, that this would be a hard book to get through.

So, my review of the first 90% of the book is that it is a story. It's not terrifying, it's not terribly scary. It's the story of this guy's life and some weird stuff happens.

The last 10% is where the "scary" happens. Except, I didn't find it scary. Maybe I should have. I don't know. In the list of things that I find scary, the topic of this portion of the book is on the top of the list. But it wasn't terribly scary. It wasn't bone-chilling, and it didn't give me nightmares. In fact, I felt that I had read it all before.

After mulling it all over, I decided that this book is like Shelley's Frankenstein meets HP Lovecraft. It has the Lovecraft feel to it and many elements from Frankenstein, right down to the frame story. You know, it just seemed unoriginal.

So, after much thought, I have decided that this book is nowhere near what I was hoping for or expecting. I was disappointed. Maybe it's just hard to scare me. Read it for yourself and let me know if it's just me.

A brief aside: In the acknowledgements for inspiration at the beginning of the book King writes that he was inspired by Arthur Machen and his story "The Great God Pan". King claimed that the story haunts him. So, I thought, "What sorts of things haunt Stephen King?!" So I read "The Great God Pan", which is not a long story. Turns out, Revival is a revival of Machen's story. The characters and time period are different, but it might as well be the same story. Le sigh.

I know, I know... another Stephen King book. I really enjoy his stuff, so get off my case. I have been meaning to read something by Joe Hill, and then I saw this book and was pretty stoked.

Let me just tell you in advance, this story has nothing to do with velociraptors. I'll admit, I was a little disappointed about that, but I got over it.

Alrighty, here is a brief summary:A brother and sister (Cal and Becky) are road-tripping across the country and after a brief stop at the world's largest ball of twine in Kansas, they are driving past a field where they hear a cry for help. They pull over and despite something in the backs of their minds that tells them something isn't right, they approach the field. As they stand on the outskirts, they realize the grass is much taller than they first assumed. The cries for help are joined by another, contradictory voice. With two people lost in the grass, Cal goes looking for them. Becky calls 911 and then enters the tall grass. Cal and Becky lose track of each other and the cries for help are scattered and shifting. They both become disoriented and no matter how far they walk or in which direction, they never get closer to the road. I'm going to stop my summary there and jump into my review.

Here are my thoughts:

As if I needed another reason to not go to Kansas... I recommend reading this story if you don't mind some gross. The story has a pretty "Desperation" vibe going for it. In other words, it was creepy. There is one aspect of this story that I wish I knew more about, but I understand why they didn't go into more depth. There is something about this story, I guess it's a novella, that I didn't like. I'm not sure what it was. Maybe it was that there weren't answers, just more questions. Actually, the rock has the answers...

The lack of answers aside, I keep thinking about this story. I don't think about the tall grass or the characters. I think of the non-characters. I think about the town with the church. I think of the parking lot and the people. I think about the story that wasn't told. I love stories that keep me thinking.

The more I think about it, the more I like this story. So, Stephen King & Joe Hill, well done.

I started watching the new show, "Haven", when I heard that it was based off of a Stephen King story. I got about halfway through the first season when I realized that I wanted... no, I needed to know more about this story.

I read "The Colorado Kid" looking for answers. That was my first mistake.

Before I get into the "Haven" spiel, let me give you my thoughts on "The Colorado Kid":

Here is a basic summary of the story. It is about two newspaper guys, Vince and Dave, who tell their intern about a mystery that was never solved and could never be told because there are just too many questions. It's a story within a story. Frame stories are a favorite of mine. The mystery is about a dead body that turns up on a beach in Maine. The body, it is later discovered, is from Colorado which is where the name, The Colorado Kid, comes from. How the body got there at that time, with the items it had, how did he die, etc? As I stated earlier, I read this story looking for answers. Don't do that. This story will not give you answers, it will make you ask more questions, and that is kinda the point.

I don't know how to put this to words. I guess I associated with the intern in the story. She was clever and had basically been adopted by the two newspaper guys. I want to be the kind of person that can answer the questions she was asked. This leads me to one of the things I liked about this book. They gave you the answers they asked for. When the newspaper guys asked their intern what was missing from the story or why the story can't be told, the intern gave the right answer the first time. As a reader, you don't get caught up in the wrong answers. At the same time, I'm not really sure I like having the answers given to me. I guess I'd rather have the answers given than come to the wrong conclusions and get confused by the story.

The story is short, and if you like a good mystery then go for it. Don't expect answers though. This is not a story that is neatly tied up at the end. If anything, it's more of a mystery than when it began. It wasn't my favorite and I occasionally found my attention wandering, but it's worth a read.

Now let's talk about "The Colorado Kid" and "Haven". The commonalities involve a couple of the same characters and The Colorado Kid newspaper article shows up regularly. That's pretty much where the similarities end. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the show. I think they will find some answers for The Colorado Kid case later in the show, so I will keep tuning in. When I watch superhero movies, my favorite part is when the superhero is discovering their powers. Turns out that's what happens in every episode of "Haven". I went into the show expecting a Stephen King style show. Not so much. Oh well, I still like it.

I know, I know. I've been reading lots and lots of Stephen King's books. They are all just so different. I promise, the next book I read will be by a different author.

I don't really know what compelled me to read this one, but I did.

The premise of this book is that a small business owner comes to a small town in Maine and begins selling his wares. He meets with people individually and sells them what they "need". For each person it is different, and the item they buy sends them on a dreamlike journey. A splinter of wood from the holy land when held makes the holder feel like they are on a boat. It's like they're transported and they can feel the boat rocking beneath their feet, and they can see the people who built the boat. Like I said, for each person it's a different item. Here are a few: a baseball card, a tin horse racing game, a fox tail, a carnival glass lampshade, a book with a treasure map etc. Mr. Leland Gaunt, the proprietor of the small shop called "Needful Things", does not price the items he sells. He merely asks for what people can spend. Something that could cost thousands is being sold for $80. That is not the entire payment, he also asks his customers to play a "harmless trick" on somebody.

The customers leave with their object, and it eventually becomes an obsession to them. They are afraid to leave the house with it, and they're afraid to leave the house at all in case the item is stolen. As the story progresses and tricks are played, the town reaches a breaking point. I won't spoil the details for you or anything like that, but here are my thoughts on the book...

Once again Stephen King presents us with a case of "good vs. evil". This one is a little different. The force of good in this story is portrayed as an everyman, Sheriff Pangborn. He is just a normal guy, he has problems, but everybody does. He is detail oriented and enjoys the sleight of hand. To be honest, there is nothing particularly special about this guy. Sometimes he moves with the quickness and grace of a cat. I have a couple cats who can do that too. Actually only one... the other one is not very graceful. The fact that the Sheriff is so normal makes him really relatable. It's odd to say that I can relate to a middle aged sheriff in small town Maine, but it's true. So, in this story, we have the sheriff as the good and Mr. Gaunt as the bad.

There is a little playing around with denominations, but I think it's mostly satirical. Stephen King tends to stay away from religion and instead focuses on the larger good vs. evil. On a more in depth note, this book also plays on the good and evil inside of people. These objects that people think they need bring out the bad in people. Their morals and inhibitions are set aside in order to keep the item they "need". It's not too far a stretch of the imagination to see the possibility of people acting the way they did in the book. It's an unpleasant realization.

What I liked about this book was that it took a lot of humanity and gave it a little twist. It's like watching something in the theater. It's a dark room, nobody is looking at you. You can laugh at whatever you want to without being judged. It's like total anonymity. It's a mob mentality. I think people can relate to the characters in a voyeuristic creepy sort of way. I like finding out what each character "needs". You know, I just really enjoyed this book in a creepy, voyeuristic way. I also love how all these different books that King has written have repeat characters.

What I didn't like about this book was the light vs. dark thing. I'm not talking about good vs evil or anything like that. What I'm talking about is the same thing we saw in "Insomnia". Actual light vs actual darkness. It's interesting, and in "Insomnia" it made more sense than it did in "Needful Things". I've seen it show up at the end of these books, and it feels like a sort of cop out ending to make sure all the other details come together. I'm not a fan of it. Another thing I wasn't fond of was the very beginning and very end. It's a conversation that the reader has with an old man from the town. It's unnecessary. I started reading it and I had to double and triple check that I was reading a Stephen King book.

I mean, overall, I really enjoyed this book, but there were a few things that really stuck out to me as odd.

I was at the bookstore and I needed a book to read, so I texted my brother and asked him which Stephen King book I should read next. I told him which books were available, and he recommended "Desperation".

I read the first chapter and texted my brother:"Didn't they make a movie out of this book with one of the Buseys as the cop?" He then proceeded to correct me. The cop was played by Ron Perlman. Either way, creepy.

So, I read the book, but before I get to my review I'm going to tell you about how I read this book. I normally read on my kindle, but it was missing and would later be found under the seat of the truck. I bought a paperback copy of it. It reminded me why I love physical books. I had an appointment, and I brought my book to read while I waited until I was called in. The ladies behind the desk saw the book and started a conversation about Stephen King and which books we liked etc. The point of this story is that when you are reading a kindle, people can't see the title of the book your reading. They're less likely to stop and talk to you about your book when they don't know what you're reading. I miss random stranger conversations about books because they can clearly see what book you're reading. Although, with books like 50 Shades of Grey wandering around, maybe it's best that it's an ebook.

Anyway, these are my thoughts about "Desperation":

I'm not even going to attempt to sum this book up for you. It's complicated. I'll just jump straight into my review.

We'll start with the overall theme. Stephen King likes to play around with the idea of "good vs. evil". It's not as simple as that, but it's a recurring theme in a lot of his books. There is one power that has a significant "good" figure and one power that has a significant "evil" figure. God vs the devil, light vs darkness, angels vs demons, Mother Abigail vs Randall Flagg. However you choose to look at it, it's a common theme. This is not about religion. Sometimes I really like where he goes with it, but sometimes I am just kinda confused how he came up with those ideas. In "Desperation", there is a young boy who prays. It's prayer like we don't normally see. It's pure, it's without distraction, and it is without hindrance. I love it. The evil force in the book is not the devil. It is an ancient god, and can control vultures, coyotes, snakes, scorpions, spiders etc. The characters in the story have to overcome their own demons as well as the demons that come spewing out of a recently reopened mining pit. The title of the book brings about an interesting statement. When asked what the opposite of faith is, one of the characters responds, "Desperation." This I'm sure has brought about many debates and controversy. Why is this so controversial? Because of religion. Stephen King says nothing about religion in this book, but people assume that's what he's talking about. This is a debate for a different day, but I think it needed to be mentioned.

Alrighty, these are my thoughts about the actual story:

One of my favorite things when I read a book is the characters and their development. I didn't love any of the characters in this book. I don't know that there is one particular character in "Desperation" that people are supposed to sympathise with. The development is unmistakable. The events in this book are so drastic that it is impossible to not have the characters develop. Sometimes the characters you think you know the best are the ones that end up surprising you. Tak! When you finally reach a point where the characters get to tell their stories, you still can't attach yourself to any of them because any or all of them could die by the end of this and everyone knows it.

The story itself was creepy. I've driven down highway 50 in Nevada. Encountering a cop like Entragian (though it wasn't really Entragian) is just not something I ever even want to think about. From the coyotes to the spiders and the cougar to the can tahs, this book creeped me out. This book knew just how to grab my brain and shake it up. I think it was because no one was immune. No one was invulnerable. I'm not saying that demons older than time hidden in the depths of the Earth are possible or that they're not. It's not like "The Stand" where some people are immune to the disease. Anyone can get this disease from Desperation.

Once again I am reminded of King's creativity with language. In this book, it was the language of the dead, used by the unformed. When you first hear it, you don't know what it is, but you know it's not right. The way I picture it in my head... just plain creepy. Never something I want to hear.

Overall:

I read "Desperation" after reading "Gerald's Game". It was a good "next book". I was unimpressed with "Gerald's Game" and "Desperation" kinda reminded me of the things I love about Stephen King. I love how he can make things creepy, like the topiary garden in "The Shining". I love his use of language and his creativity with it as well. I can see why my brother recommended it to me. It's a strange thing to say, but I think this is one of King's darker stories. I'll expand on this more when I review "Needful Things".

Would I recommend this book to others?

Yes and no. If you don't mind being creeped out, yes. If you don't like being creeped out, no. I really enjoyed it.

One thing I love about Stephen King is his ability to combine reality with the supernatural. I'm not going to postulate whether or not the supernatural is real, I'm just saying he writes his stories with a fantastic twist (fantastic = fantasy) often. Sometimes I go on book sprees where I buy a bunch of books I intend to read. One of the last sprees has left me with "Gerald's Game". I was not so sure how the book was going to capture my attention, especially after reading the basic plot.

Let me tell you about it. The basic idea is that a couple in their 40's heads out to the lake for the weekend. Gerald, the husband, suggests the use of handcuffs for a romantic foray. There is a lot of inner turmoil here, and the wife, Jessie, after being handcuffed, decides that she just can't handle it. She tries to get Gerald to stop, but he won't. So she kicks him off of her. Unfortunately, this is quite a shock and he has a heart attack and dies. I promise I haven't revealed too much of the story to you all. This happens pretty early on in the book. The book is actually about this woman's struggle to survive, escape, and face the demons in her past that have so long haunted her... as well as a few new demons from the present.

Now let me tell you what I think about this book.

I'm not in love with it. There were moments when I found myself questioning if I should actually finish the book or not. Maybe it's that I don't relate to Jessie. Maybe I don't have any sympathy for her. I'm not really sure what it is, but I just wasn't involved in this story like I have been in others. I think the part that disappointed me the most was when the most fantastic (fantasy) part of the story turns out to be very real. It was creepy, but not in a way to make my skin crawl. It is 100% possible that something like this could happen. Maybe that should make it more creepy. It doesn't for me. I'm just not thrilled with it.

This is not a Stephen King book I would recommend to others. I feel like the ending was sort of just tacked on there to give some major closure. The ending is cohesive with the story, but it feels sort of simple. This whole book is not something I'm used to reading from King.

I can't say I'm disappointed in King or anything like that. Not everything an author writes is going to make you want to meet the characters, jump into the pages, or write a letter of praise to the author. I still love Stephen King, this just wasn't my favorite. Maybe it is someone else's favorite. I'm excited to find out how King will continue to surprise me (in both good and bad ways) with his other books.

I was pretty excited to read another of Stephen King's books. Gypsy curse? Yes, please!

After a car accident leading to a fatality, the main character, Billy, has a gypsy curse placed on him. An old Gypsy man whispers one word in Billy's ear: Thinner. As an obese lawyer from Maine, he thinks nothing of it when he starts losing weight. He keeps losing and losing until it reaches an unhealthy point. Meanwhile, he is trying to find the Gypsy man to reverse the curse.

I have to say that a good portion of people who read this book entertain the thought that they wish weight loss was that easy. That being said, I think Stephen King does a great job of showing how unhealthy Billy gets. He reaches a point in where he scares kids as a walking skeleton.

I thought the book was going to end one particular way and it turns out I was wrong. I'm not disappointed in the ending, but it happened so quickly. It just kinda ended. The book was good. I would definitely recommend it, but I feel like it was lacking the language creativity that I love so much from King. The ending was a little surprising and short. Thinking back, there was a lot of stuff that I wasn't expecting... In a good way. I would recommend reading it so you can be surprised too.

Overall, this is a book about a Gypsy curse and the man who tries to justify his actions and reverse the curse. If you're looking for an entertaining read, you've found it!

For some reason I can't seem to get away from my childhood perception of Stephen King. Every time I begin to read one of his books I expect something dark and macabre. Some of his books are definitely darker than others, but some of them are light and beautiful as well.

When my brother first told me to read "Insomnia" I thought I had the story line all figured out. It was about a guy who had insomnia and went insane something something something murder and death something something. I love Stephen King's writing, so I gave it a shot. I was only partially right about this book. The main character does suffer from insomnia.

The side effects of the insomnia are really what interested in me once I started reading. After losing so many hours of sleep, the sufferer begins to see auras. It's like a different plane of existence and awareness. Through the aura, details can be gleaned about someone's life. Are they sick at the time? Are they depressed? Are they perfectly content? Each color means something different. When the colors merge, mix and intertwine, it means something else. Other things that can be seen in this other plane are "little bald doctors". King named the three that the main character sees after the three fates of Greek mythology: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. These "doctors" are in charge of enforcing a person's lifespan, like the fates. Of course, there is a lot more in this other plane than just the doctors. There are evil beings, good beings and neutral beings. Some get involved and some you only hear of.

If you think about the book as a whole, I would say it is kinda dark, but the moments of the auras really balances the book out. After I finished reading it, I was kinda disappointed because I had hoped it would have been darker. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and am continually astounded by King's imagination. I love that I think I know what a book is going to be about and then am totally surprised when I actually read it. I would recommend this book to someone who needs a good entry to Stephen King's works. It's a good balance and really shows off the diversity of his writing abilities.

If you've read any of my more recent reviews, you'd probably notice that I have been in the mood for short stories. I decided to read "Different Seasons" because I knew 2 of the 4 stories involved in it.

DS contains 4 stories with which you may or may not be familiar:The first is titled "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" this later became a movie called "The Shawshank Redemption". The second is "Apt Pupil" which was also made into a movie with the same name.The third is "The Body" which was made into a movie that goes by the title of "Stand By Me".The fourth and final story is called "The Breathing Method".

When I started this book, I was familiar with "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Stand By Me" which are the movies and not the stories. Being a fan of Michael Crichton's books and movies, I have learned that when books are made into movies, a lot is left out of the story (Jurassic Park is a prime example of this). So, I went into these stories, despite their familiarity, with the mindset that the written story would be different from the movie.

I'm not going to go into each story, but I will tell you about the book as a whole. From what I understood, these four stories were supposed to be about Castle Rock in different seasons as well as different years. For instance, Andy Dufresne is mentioned in "Apt Pupil" but is the main character in "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption". Each of the stories is about a different "season" in this town... except for "The Breathing Method". The first three stories were all connected in one way or another. It was like a game for me. I had to find the connection. I just failed to see it in "The Breathing Method". I enjoyed the story. I liked the framing of it, a story within a story, but it just failed to connect.

Here's a brief about each of the stories:1 - Enjoyed and would recommend2 - WTF? Not my favorite story ever. Wow... just wow.3 - Enjoyed, I love a good bildungsroman. 4 - Kinda slow getting into it... a lot of "let me tell you a story, but this isn't the actual story I want to tell you... but I'll get to it." Once it got going I really enjoyed it.

This wasn't my favorite of his books or short story collections, but I really enjoyed it. I liked how vastly different each of the stories was. I would recommend it, but maybe not as an introduction to Stephen King.

For those of you that keep tabs on all my blogs, you know that we recently had some vehicle trouble. While we were waiting for the tow truck, I got a chance to dive headfirst into “Hatchet” (sounds painful, eh?). Well, I recently finished the book so I’m going to tell you about it.

“Hatchet” makes me question whether or not I would be able to survive in the wilderness with only a hatchet. Seriously, I kinda want to see if I could do it. I wasn’t too engaged at the beginning, but like “The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon”, there was a life at stake and I had to see it rescued.

The differences between the two stories are important to note:

The length of time the individual is lost. Brian is lost for 50+ days. Trish is lost for two weeks.

The age of the individual lost. Brian is 13 years old. Trish is 9 years old.

Where they got lost. Brian got lost in the Canadian wilderness. Trish got lost in the Appalachians.

What they did once they realized they were lost. Brian stayed in one place and made himself a home. Trish started walking and just kept walking, sometimes following a stream, sometimes just walking.

The item they treasured most. Brian, of course, had his hatchet. Trish had her walkman.

Those are just a few differences between these two survival type books. Both have good ideas and tips, but I just don’t know what I would do if I were in the same situation. The biggest question I get stuck on is if I would move around or try to stay in the same place. I guess I may never know the answer to that question.

Okay, to the actual review of the book. I really enjoyed it. It was a good read, and I can only guess when I say that it was realistic. I don’t really know if it is or not. I’m a little surprised he didn’t get sick more than the book says. The time got a little warped near the end of the book and instead of being a present narration, it became recollections. The ending was rather abrupt, but I was content. I was curious to know what would have happened if Brian hadn’t been rescued by winter. Turns out Gary Paulsen wrote a sequel… well, he wrote the Brian Saga. The next book answers my questions. It’s called “Brian’s Winter”. I’m looking forward to reading it, but I get the impression that it might be a little sugar-coated or that details might be a little clouded over. For that reason, I think I should also read “Guts” (also by Gary Paulsen).

The point of the story is that the book was good and that I would recommend it to those who might one day be lost in the woods. You know who you are.

For the record, these reviews are my personal opinions about the books I volunteer to read. I'm not getting paid by anyone to read or review them. A lot of people charge a penny for their thoughts... mine are free.